Trip to Korea in May with a friend visiting for the first time
hana1112
2 days ago
Lately I’d been coming to Korea solo, but this time I came with a friend who’d been saying, “I really, really want to travel to Korea at least once!”
She loves Korean dramas and K-pop too, but it sounds like she just hadn’t found the right timing, and she asked to come with someone who’s used to traveling in Korea, so she invited me.
I wanted her to be able to say it was a fun, satisfying trip, so I planned out a bunch of things.
On the first day, we arrived at Incheon Airport around lunchtime, so after immigration we ate lunch at the airport.
The food court on the basement level of Incheon Airport Terminal 1 has tasty Korean food at relatively reasonable prices.
I ordered udon and it was about 8,500 won.
After eating, like always, I exchanged the Creatrip reservation I’d made in advance for A'REX tickets at the machine, and off we went to Seoul Station!
Korea also happened to be on holiday, so Seoul Station was absolutely packed. We transferred to Subway Line 4 and headed to Myeongdong. This time we were staying at a guesthouse in Myeongdong, so we checked in first to drop off our suitcases. After that, we exchanged money and then headed back to Seoul Station.
It was time for shopping at Lotte Mart, which we’d been looking forward to.
I introduced my friend to lots of delicious Korean snacks I recommend, and I also bought a huge amount of snacks myself. I personally wanted Jin’s tuna cans, but they’re heavy so I gave up. Haha.
Lotte Mart lines up its current top picks near the entrance, so it’s easy to see what’s trending.
We took all our bags back to the hotel for a moment, then wandered around Myeongdong.
Myeongdong Cathedral appears in dramas too, so when we went, there were tons of people because mass was in progress.
Photography isn’t allowed inside so I couldn’t take pictures, but it’s such beautiful architecture, and the stained glass was gorgeous too.
We were getting hungry, so we had dinner at Shinseon Seolleongtang.
The comforting beef broth was so delicious, it really hit the spot.
After dinner, we strolled around Myeongdong and stopped by Lotte Duty Free, and that wrapped up day one.
The next day, since Plan S Clinic in Gangnam, the place I always go to, had opened a location in Myeongdong, I visited the Myeongdong branch for the first time. The inside is such a beautiful space too.
First, I did an InBody measurement, then after the consultation they prescribed me diet medication. I’m excited to see if I can get my weight back down after gaining again this time.
Once my clinic appointment was done, it was shopping time at MIMILINE. A big MIMILINE opened right outside Myeongdong Station, so you can basically find everything for souvenirs in one place, accessories, clothes, cosmetics, snacks, and more.
My friend got totally absorbed in shopping, and we ended up staying there for two whole hours. Haha.
Before we knew it, it was past lunchtime, so we went to Hasuo Gomtang Myeongdong in Myeongdong.
You can choose Japanese on the touch screen, so ordering is easy.
The yukhoe made with Korean beef was super fresh and delicious, and the kimchi here is amazing too. 13,000 won for this is a steal.
My friend, who was trying yukhoe for the first time, was really satisfied too.
After that, we went to wander around Namdaemun Market.
Something I always want to eat in Korea is hotteok.
It was huge, and even though we’d just had lunch, sweets are always a separate stomach, I finished it in no time!
After fully enjoying Namdaemun Market, we took the subway to Dongdaemun.
We enjoyed shopping at nearby places like DOOTA and Hyundai Outlet, then went to see Dongdaemun.
When I come alone I don’t really take my time sightseeing, so it was fun actually going around and seeing things one by one.
We headed back to Myeongdong again and went to Lanzhou Knife-Cut Noodles, Myeongdong Branch. Their jajangmyeon is made with knife-cut noodles, so it feels totally different from anywhere else.
There’s always a line, and when we went around 7 pm that day there were about 15 people ahead of us. But the turnover is fast, so we got in without waiting even 30 minutes.
We ordered the most basic jajangmyeon. It had seafood and was very filling, about 10,000 won.
You can’t really get this in Japan, so if you come to Korea, I’d love for you to try it at least once.
We’d enjoyed the day so much, so we went back to the hotel early and headed up to the rooftop.
I had banana milk, and my friend had IGIN, and we toasted while looking at N Seoul Tower.
We were satisfied all over again with a view that looks like it could be straight out of a Korean drama.
Day 3. The weather was unstable from the morning, but we headed to Haewadal Hanbok near Gyeongbokgung Palace, which I’d reserved through Creatrip. It was early, 8:30 am, so no other customers were there yet and we could take our time choosing our favorite hanbok. This time we chose the cheapest plan, the most standard 2-hour option for about 850 yen. We also added 5,000 won on the spot to have our hair styled.
Luckily the rain stopped, and we were able to enter right when Gyeongbokgung Palace opened at 9:00. If you’re wearing a hanbok, admission is free.
There were hardly any people around, so we could take really nice photos.
Around 9:30, more people started to show up and it began raining again, so we returned the outfits to the shop pretty quickly. Still, we got to take lots of photos while it was quiet, which was great. Even though I’d visited Korea many times, I’d never worn a hanbok to a historic place before, so it felt fresh for me too, and I was really satisfied.
Shopping is fun, but it made me realize again how great experiences like this are too.
Next, we headed to Gwangjang Market. It’s covered, so you won’t get wet in the rain, and I recommend it because you can enjoy that lively, uniquely Korean market atmosphere.
These days it also has stylish clothing outlet shops and a renovated Starbucks, so it’s a really appealing place where the charm of a traditional market blends with a modern vibe.
First, we went to Starbucks for a Korea-only hotteok-flavored drink. It really tasted like hotteok, so good! It’s such a fun way to spend time while looking out over the market.
Since lunchtime was getting close, we ate gimbap and japchae at the market!
It was a popular spot, and people were packed in tightly, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder while they ate.
The sesame oil aroma was so good, and it was really easy to eat!
We left Gwangjang Market completely satisfied, and next we headed to Anguk for tea after the meal.
I’d tried to go into Cafe Onion several times before but gave up because the line was so long. Maybe because it was raining that day, there were fewer people waiting, and we were able to get in after about 15 minutes!
All the bread looked so delicious, it was hard to choose.
After agonizing over it, I ordered a salted butter roll topped with chocolate and a cafe latte, and it was insanely good! The chocolate wasn’t overly sweet, and the salty flavor of the bread lingered lightly, it was perfect.
When I travel, I’m usually so busy shopping that I don’t really take time to relax at a cafe, but this one had such a calming atmosphere. We stayed about an hour, chatting comfortably.
After taking a break at the cafe, we strolled around the Bukchon area.
There are lots of cute little gift shops and cafes, it’s fun just to look around.
While we were walking around, we found a shop from YLESS, the company behind the Korean cosmetics brand KAHI. It’s a stylish store made by renovating a hanok, with cosmetics sales on B1 and a cafe on the first floor.
If you buy three cosmetics items they’re half off, so it was a much better deal than buying from Japan. They also had lots of products I haven’t seen in Japan yet, so I ended up buying a lot.
By the way, you can get tteokbokki for free at the first-floor cafe.
After enjoying the Bukchon area, we took the subway to Gwanghwamun.
I wanted to see the place where BTS held a concert in March, so we went to the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History.
The permanent exhibition is free to enter, and if you go up to the rooftop, you can see not only the concert site but also an amazing panoramic view of Gyeongbokgung Palace, it’s a spot I really recommend.
And for ARMY, there’s also a BTS time capsule on display, irresistible.
It was my first time visiting too, and it really made me realize again just how many places there are to sightsee in Seoul.
It was getting to evening, so it was time for dinner. For our last dinner before heading home, we went to eat Bossam at my friend’s request.
We looked for a Bossam place in Myeongdong and went to Wonhalmoni Bossam, Jokbal.
As you’d expect from a specialty restaurant, the Bossam was incredibly tender and juicy. There was no pork smell at all, it was truly delicious.
On the final day, we headed to the airport early in the morning and made it safely back home.
I’ve been to Korea many times, but this trip felt fresh for me too, and it ended up being such a fun journey.
